// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
What it's like to be on a warship like the USS Abraham Lincoln
Trump on USS Lincoln deployment: 'Not nearly long enough'
US Navy veteran Jonny Burnell spent 111 days aboard the battleship USS Vinson during the US war with Afghanistan in 2001.
His role as a Navy photographer allowed him to visit crew throughout the ship, unlike most sailors who are confined to parts of the vessel where they work. In an age before digital photography, troops were often eager to get their picture snapped whenever they saw him.
Over more than three months aboard the USS Carl Vinson, he witnessed a change among the crew as their excitement and energy faded to what he called a "sadness".
"There was one point where there was a visible kind of deadness in the shipmates' eyes", he recalls. "I still think the hardest part of my job was watching the sadness in people's faces every frickin' day."
Burnell told the BBC he's been watching on the brink of tears as concern mounts about conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln - which has been deployed as part of the US-Iran war since 11 December, more than double his deployment aboard the Vinson.
Military on the Lincoln are reportedly contending with food shortages, broken plumbing and exhaustion, according to two US publications that cover the military - the Military Times and Stars & Stripes.
Family members of sailors onboard have expressed concern about their mental health deteriorating due to the conditions, with some sailors having reportedly attempted to jump overboard.
Military officials have disputed that there are severe issues afflicting the ship, and some veterans have also suggested that the accounts in the media are overblown.
The reports in the media are largely inaccurate, and "99% hype," says retired Navy Lt Commander Steve Rogers, Director of the Association of the United States Navy (AUSN).